Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Grows Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its position in Graco by 3.4% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 419,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,749,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Graco by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,298,000 after buying an additional 374,967 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 359.2% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,986,000 after purchasing an additional 501,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,054,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,923,000 after buying an additional 19,545 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of GGG opened at $75.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.56. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.64 and a 52-week high of $93.01.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. On average, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.00.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.